Solar powered interfacial evaporation materials are widely used in seawater desalination. But solar energy is intermittent. To solve this problem, researchers combined phase change materials (PCMs) ...with interfacial evaporation materials. Many PCMs are loaded into the interface evaporation matrix material through physical blending, which may cause leakage problems during long-term use, leading to secondary water pollution. We have developed a novel interfacial evaporation material that continuously and efficiently vaporizes clean water under intermittent sunlight to address these issues. The solid-solid PCMs (BC/PVA/GO-g-LA-SSPCMs) were obtained by chemical grafting of PCMs lauric acid (LA) and graphene oxide (GO), and the substrate material bacterial fibrin (BC) was modified by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The material achieved light absorption of 88.8% in the full spectrum range. Under 1 kW m−2 light, the evaporation rate reaches 3.4 kg m−2h−1, and the solar-thermal conversion efficiency is 94.2%. In the dark, the evaporation rate is 1.05 kg m−2h−1, and the solar-thermal conversion efficiency is 49.5%. 15 light-dark cycle experiments and harsh environments (high concentration brine, acidic solution, alkaline solution, dye wastewater) showed high efficiency and stable evaporation performance. The material cost of the evaporator is about 0.98 USD·m−2, and the solar-thermal quality factor is 4.64, which is higher than that of most reported materials. In short, BC/PVA/GO-g-LA-SSPCMs provides a new idea for the future design and development of solar-thermal conversion materials to achieve efficient and continuous saltwater desalination and wastewater purification under intermittent solar-irradiation.
Display omitted
•Use of mist flow jet impingement cooling technology on ultra-thin glass.•Correlation for surface average Nusselt number is given.•Controlling droplet diameter can obtain better heat transfer ...uniformity.•Mist flow jet impingement reduces the amount of air and save energy.
The thinning and miniaturization of components, such as liquid crystal display and solar cells, has increased the market demand for tempered ultra-thin glass. The physical tempering in glass, which is less than 2mm thick, is difficult to achieve in air jet impingement. In this study, we propose the use of mist flow jet impingement cooling technology on ultra-thin glass. The effects of the mist flow droplets diameters, nozzle inlet temperature, and mass fraction on the heat transfer rate and uniformity are numerically studied. Our performance in terms of the heat transfer rate and the uniformity is accounted for through an evaluation of the surface-averaged temperature, averaged Nusselt number, surface-averaged Nusselt number, and surface standard deviation percentage of the Nusselt number. The empirical correlation for the surface averaged Nusselt number asa function of mist flow droplet diameters is provided. The droplet diameter is the major factor affecting the heat transfer rate, while the jet inlet temperature is a minor factor. We can obtain a better heat transfer uniformity by controlling the droplet diameter of the mist flow jet impingement. Using mist flow jet impingement, we would not only greatly reduce the amount of air and save energy, but also meet the needs of sudden cooling for tempered glass with a thickness of less than 2mm.
Low-cost, highly stable, and high-performance non-precious metal bifunctional oxygen reduction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER) electrocatalysts ensure the large-scale commercialization of ...rechargeable Zn–air batteries. In this study, we obtained an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst (FeCo-NC@Co2P-NC) using pyrolysis and subsequent phosphorylation of ZIF-67 after the addition of an iron source. The excellent ORR activity is primarily attributed to the FeCo-NC sites, while Co2P is the active site for high-performance OER. Therefore, the obtained FeCo-NC@Co2P-NC has high onset and half-wave potentials for the ORR and a low overpotential for the OER, indicating its excellent bifunctional activity. It exhibited a reversible oxygen overpotential that exceeded that of commercial Pt/C and RuO2. In addition, the Zn–air battery with the FeCo-NC@Co2P-NC catalyst had a high peak power density and cycling stability, exhibiting better performance than the commercial 20 % Pt/C-RuO2. Therefore, this study provides a new strategy for the rational design of efficient non-precious metal electrocatalysts for energy storage and conversion.
Display omitted
•An easily method was proposed to prepare bifunctional catalyst (FeCo-NC@Co2P-NC).•The FeCo-NC and Co2P sites are conducive to gain high ORR/OER activity.•The FeCo-NC@Co2P-NC were applied to Zn-Air battery with excellent performance.
•Multi-stimuli-responsive hydrogel is synthesized with liquid metal as an additive.•The influence of NIPAM/AM ratios on mechanical properties of hydrogel is investigated.•The double-layer-structured ...actuator possesses stimulated deformation performance.•A novel soft robot with double layer structure is designed.•It could realize multi-gait behaviors in multiple environments.
PNIPAm thermosensitive hydrogel (TSH) has attracted a lot of attention from academic scholars due to its smart volumetric phase transition response to external weak stimuli. However, it cannot simultaneously balance and optimize its tensile properties and response speed. Then, we developed LM-TSH with liquid metal (LM) as an additive, and its elongation at break can reach 768%. In this work, LM-TSH and magnetic TSH are combined to develop a double-layer TSH actuator with multi-field response behavior, which realizes the dual actuation response to near-infrared (NIR) light and high-frequency alternating magnetic field. In addition, a TSH soft robot with two-layer structure is designed, which can realize multi-gait behaviors such as jumping, transporting cargos, and crossing the height obstacle in multiple environments.
Purpose:
Pneumatic tourniquets are used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for surgical field visualization and improved cementation; however, their use is controversial. This study aimed to assess the ...effects of tourniquet application on enhanced recovery post-TKA.
Methods:
A prospective randomized single-blinded trial assessed tourniquet’s effects on postoperative pain, swelling, and early outcome in TKA. One-hundred and two patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomized to full-course (FC) and second half-course (SHC) application (n = 51/group). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), C-C motif chemokine ligand 2(CCL-2), pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2), superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1), and myoglobin (Mb) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while the visual analog scale (VAS), range of motion (ROM), and thigh circumference growth rate were recorded.
Results:
Average tourniquet duration significantly differed between the SHC (37.5 ± 5.1 min) and FC (66.4 ± 7.2 min) groups (p < 0.01); VAS and thigh circumference growth rate in the SHC group were much lower compared with the FC group, while ROM was higher within 48 h of tourniquet removal (p < 0.01). Blood TNF-α, PTX3, CCL2, PGE2, SOD-1, and Mb were lower in the SHC group than the FC group (p < 0.01). Additionally, intraoperative blood loss was significantly elevated in the SHC group than the FC group (p < 0.01), with lower postoperative blood loss in the drain (p = 0.001). Postoperative drainage volume was reduced in the SHC group compared with the FC group (p < 0.01); five and two patients in the FC and SHC groups required blood transfusion, respectively (p = 0.025). Hospital stay tended to be shorter in the SHC group (p = 0.023), and no tourniquet-related complications were recorded.
Conclusion:
Improved therapeutic outcome was observed in the SHC group, indicating patients should routinely undergo TKA with SHC tourniquet application.
Nonradiative losses caused by defects are the main obstacles to further advancing the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). There is focused research to boost the device ...performance by reducing the number of defects and deactivating defects; however, little attention is paid to the defect‐capture capacity. Here, upon systematically examining the defect‐capture capacity, highly polarized fluorinated species are designed to modulate the dielectric properties of the perovskite material to minimize its defect‐capture radius. On the one hand, fluorinated polar species strengthen the defect dielectric‐screening effect via enhancing the dielectric constant of the perovskite film, thus reducing the defect‐capture radius. On the other, the fluorinated iodized salt replenishes the I‐vacancy defects at the surface, hence lowering the defect density. Consequently, the power‐conversion efficiency of an all‐inorganic CsPbI3 PSC is increased to as high as 20.5% with an open‐circuit voltage of 1.2 V and a fill factor of 82.87%, all of which are among the highest in their respective categories. Furthermore, the fluorinated species modification also produces a hydrophobic umbrella yielding significantly improved humidity tolerance, and hence long‐term stability. The present strategy provides a general approach to effectually regulate the defect‐capture radius, thus enhancing the optoelectronic performance.
Polar species modification (PSM) is employed to reduce the defect capturing probability by strengthening the defect dielectric screening effect via increasing the dielectric constant of a perovskite film. The introduction of F3EAI fills the vacancy defects at surface and also produces a hydrophobic umbrella with high resistance to humidity. PSM realizes a power conversion efficiency of 20.5% for CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells.
Cartilage tissues have limited capacity for repair after damage and then cause osteoarthritis, so finding alternative treatment is ongoing. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have become a promising ...therapy for cartilage damage and diseases due to the advantages of easy separation, high proliferative potentiality, and genetic stability. Synovium-derived MSCs (SMSCs) have been recognized as an ideal source for cartilage repair. In our previous study, we found that Sox4 promoted proliferation and chondrogenesis of SMSCs through upregulation of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) DANCR. However, the exact molecular mechanism by which DANCR promotes proliferation and chondrogenesis of SMSCs remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of lncRNA DANCR on the proliferation and chondrogenesis of SMSCs. We found that overexpression of DANCR could promote proliferation and chondrogenesis of SMSCs, while knockdown of DANCR had the opposite effect. Moreover, our data demonstrated that DANCR directly interacted with myc, Smad3, and STAT3 mRNA to regulate their stability. Finally, we found that the promotion of SMSC proliferation induced by DANCR depended on myc. Also, DANCR activated chondrogenesis of SMSCs via upregulation of Smad3 and STAT3 expression. Our growing knowledge of the role of DANCR is pointing toward its potential use as a novel therapeutic approach for cartilage damage and diseases.
The current surgical techniques for repairing Ellman Ⅲ partial articular supraspinatus tendon avulsion (PASTA) is mainly tear completion followed by repair and in situ transtendon repair, and both ...techniques have been proven to have good clinical effects. In situ transtendon repair is more widely used because of its high performance in preserving the integrity of the bursal side supraspinatus tendon. However, there is still some scope for improvement. Our purpose was to compare the clinical outcomes of the all-inside repair technique and in situ transtendon repair for Ellman III PASTA.
A retrospective comparative study was conducted on 56 patients who suffered from Ellman Ⅲ PASTA and underwent rotator cuff repair; 28 patients were treated with the all-inside technique (group A), and 28 patients were treated with the transtendinous technique (group B). All patients were followed up for at least 2 years. The visual analog scale (VAS), Constant, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scores were used to evaluate the patient’s shoulder joint function before surgery, 1 month and 3 months after surgery, and at the last time of follow-up.
Group A showed superiority in pain and functional improvement 1 month after the operation: the VAS score, 2.8 ± 0.3 in group A vs. 4.7 ± 0.4 in group B (P = .042); Constant score, 73 ± 5 in group A vs. 60 ± 6 in group B (P = .038); and ASES score, 75 ± 5 in group A vs. 58 ± 7 in group B (P = .043), whereas there was no statistical difference in group B. However, 3 months after surgery and at the last follow-up, the VAS, Constant, and ASES scores in both groups were significantly improved (P < .01), and there was no significant statistical difference between the groups (P > .05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the repaired rotator cuff tendon-bone healed well; at the last follow-up, all patients were in good function, the pain was completely relieved, and no revision was performed in both groups.
Arthroscopic repair of Ellman Ⅲ PASTA provided satisfactory functional improvements and pain relief regardless of the all-inside and in situ transtendon repair techniques. However, the all-inside repair technique is more beneficial due to its dual function in preserving the intact bursa and avoidance of uneven tension of the articular side, which is advantageous to early postoperative rehabilitation.
Berberine (BBR) has been demonstrated to exert cardiovascular protective effects by regulating gut microbiota. However, few studies examine the effect of BBR on the gut microbiota in hypertension. ...This study aims to investigate the role of BBR in regulating microbial alterations and vascular function in hypertension. C57BL/6 J mice were infused with Ang II (0.8 mg/kg/day)
osmotic minipumps and treated with BBR (150 mg/kg/day) or choline (1%) for 4 weeks. Blood pressure was detected by tail-cuff measurement once a week. Abdominal aorta pulse wave velocity (PWV) and endothelium dependent vasodilatation were measured to evaluate vascular function. Vascular remodeling was assessed by histological staining of aortic tissue. The fecal microbiota was profiled using 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing. Plasma trimethylamine (TMA)/trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and hepatic FMO3 expression were measured. We found that BBR treatment significantly alleviated the elevated blood pressure, vascular dysfunction, and pathological remodeling in Ang II-induced hypertensive mice, while choline treatment aggravated hypertension-related vascular dysfunction. 16S rDNA gene sequencing results showed that BBR treatment altered gut microbiota composition (reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio and increased the abundances of
). Moreover, BBR inhibited FMO3 expression and plasma TMA/TMAO production in hypertensive mice. TMAO treatment increased the apoptosis and oxidative stress of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and aggravated Ang II-induced HAECs dysfunction
. These results indicate that the protective effect of BBR in hypertension might be attributed (at least partially) to the inhibition of TMAO production
regulating the gut microbiota.
The present study aimed to evaluate anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) effect of Lonicerin (LON), a safe compound with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Nevertheless, the exact role of ...LON in RA remains elusive. In this test, the anti-RA effect of LON was evaluated in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. Relevant parameters were measured during the experiment; ankle tissue and serum were collected at the end of the experiment for radiology, histopathology, and inflammation analysis. ELISA, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and western blot were used to explore the effect of LON on the polarization of macrophages and related signal pathways. It was discovered that LON treatment attenuated the disease progression of CIA mice with lower paw swelling, clinical score, mobility, and inflammatory response. LON treatment significantly decreased M1 marker levels in CIA mice and LPS/IFN-γ-induced RAW264.7 cells, while slightly increasing M2 marker levels in CIA mice and IL-4-induced RAW264.7 cells. Mechanistically, LON attenuated the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, which contributes to M1 macrophage polarization and inflammasome activation. In addition, LON inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in M1 macrophages, thereby reducing inflammation by inhibiting IL-1β and IL-18 release. These results indicated that LON might exert anti-RA effects by regulating the polarization of M1/M2 macrophage, especially by inhibiting macrophage polarization toward M1.
PDF
